Forums > Videos > Contact Staff Routine

Posted: 4th Jun 2009
Nice job. I like that you move around quite a lot and put some feeling into the performance. It's not the most techy routine ever but still had some nice tricks. Horizontal angels are one of my favorite moves ever.

Only thing id say to improve is perhaps vary the speed more, you do a little but some fast bits where the music peaks would have been good.

"Don't do it naked!"

Posted: 4th Jun 2009
very nice, smooth. Keep up the good work

*clap clap clap*

O.B.E.S.E.

Owned by Mynci!

Posted: 9th Jun 2009
Yeah! Horizontal Angels rock!

Fast bits with contact - I will try to put them in. Would love to speed up at the end. From the slow part on more and more speed till the end

Posted: 9th Jun 2009
Thank you

I enjoyed the drama of it and the music helped me get into the right frame of mind. Personally I don’t think anyone need to do anything complicated/technical to put on a show [although that could be because I don’t do anything like that]. It was smooth. Love to see it again when you have speeded up the ending.

Posted: 9th Jun 2009
I don't really think it's my place to criticise this routine, but I can if you ask me too.

I would say: Goddamn! I wanted to use that peice from the moulin rouge, but you have it as an instrumental! AWESOME music.

"the now legendary" - Kaskade
"the still legendary" - Kaskade

I spunked in my friend's aquarium and the fish ate it. I love all fish. Especially the pink ones. They are my bitches. - Anon.

Posted: 10th Jun 2009
ROOOOOOAAAAA - wait for it - XANE

This routine is here for criticism so please give me your thoughts

Posted: 10th Jun 2009
I see you have listened to it a lot also... Yeah, it's really hard to hear the instrumental without having the lyrics immediately in my head...

The first 20 second of dance is great, totally establishes the character and matches the music. But then i don't understand why the foot and face balance. There is no tango dancer in the world that can balance a woman on his chin, so it totally breaks the theme. The staff isn't really a partner in the dance anymore. I know it's a very literal take. If you had to do it, there should be a nice transition into the foot balance, and no figure of eight inbetween, it also ruins the illusion of partner dance, to do it so offhand. More aidan style vertical stalls and turns would be nice, as well as just some basic tangoing...

The pose afterwards is nice, with the fire close to your face at 0.36.

I know the music doesn't get going there, but for the contact after that, it would be better for both ends to be lit. Either that or do more tango stuff, posing, I don't know. That's just my view. It may just be because I'm watching a video and not there in person that I can't see very much.

Most of the time, I don't think you need to go so far back from the audience... I can't tell, maybe it's more circular than it looks... and I am also guilty of running away from the audience, but you could definately be closer... You might want to be further away to be more confident with high throws, but I don't think you have to be that far away.

up to like 1.34 you have not moved very much, and it's still very noticeable that it's a tango... even walking at a steady pace sideways, with your body to the audience would be more in keeping with the music... the tricks look like they could be done while moving.

At 1.34 I would not be afraid to toally stop the staff and get some applause, the audience won't mind and it will make whatever you do next more dramatic, in keeping with the rising music. You could do fast or what you do in the routine which is very nice, I think. You could use a sudden obvious pause at the end, 2:10 again.

Cross legged is again not part of the tango, I think there might be something where you go to the ground and then just plan leave the staff on the ground along with some despairing roxanne type gestures, and the snuggle afterwards, on the pickup. Is it a snuggle or a kiss? Hard to see for me.

The standing up again at 2:36 is good and works really well with the music. Shame that again you retreat away from the audience.

I think for this second, chorus is it? You might want to do some vertical contact? For the lay audience it's going to look very similar to the first lot of horizontal contact. Some extra speed here would be good also I think. The meast jump is a bit out of keeping, and makes your posture pretty nasty. And up till there your posture has been good to really awesome.

Shame about the slight wiggle on ending. The throw is well timed on a second viewing but the slow turn and foot shimmy make it seem like it's off. It needs to be more definate.

It's a shame the character gets a bit lost in the extended horizontal sections of contact. It would be nice is there was a little more character throughout, just a little and then a reprisal of the tango/character at the end. I'm not sure if you want be torn up that your staff is actually part of the sex industry and suchlike... but yeah, there is a obvious plot and dance style contained within the music for you to grab onto more if you wanted to.

You shouldn't need me to tell you about what mistakes you made. But mostly you have a very nice 'other' arm and good footwork and good posture. So: win.

Oh that's quite a lot. sorry. Hope it helps.

"the now legendary" - Kaskade
"the still legendary" - Kaskade

I spunked in my friend's aquarium and the fish ate it. I love all fish. Especially the pink ones. They are my bitches. - Anon.

Posted: 10th Jun 2009
it's always more easy to criticise than to perform it, innit?

I am not surprised that Munich has generated such talent... HUGE talent right there for some time already.

Got to agree with MCP (for the 1st in a long time, so mark this in red): the foot and chin balance spare for another routine, it breaks the act. Also the transition to light up the other end... for a tango not enough !passion! - the more you "loose" yourself in the interaction with the staff (aka your Tango-partner) the more it will transport to the audience.

& ...

If you exagerate a little, when swaying your hand down and up and suggest a female shape, it will add more of a passionate (and little bit funny) aspect to the performance.

At some stage I feel you're disconnecting from the music +/- 2mns for the sake off demonstrating your skills... that's fine - onyl that I feel there are already tons off geeks out there, but not remotely as many dancers and performers... for the sake of your act, I'd say: decide which side of the reel you want to perform... (useless to mention that on EJC Ptui I have seen a dancer, performing with a staff, only spinning it ~5 times during the dance, but making it one off the most dramatic performances I have witnessed so far)...

Also later you seem to disconnect from the music for the sake of demonstrating your skills...

Maybe you look at the flames as partners, more than the entire staff being this. Torn between two lovers so to speak - just springing to mind...

Connotations to "sex toys": I would keep to a minimum (depending on your audience)... it's nice for a small adolescent giggle but nothing I would elaborate too much. It's either drag*ging it and might ruining the entire approach.

Only now I see who you are (from the webadress): SAMU!!!!!!
Heyheyhey - nice one, you'd be a huge portion of the "Munich-talent" I referred to earlier

One more thing: Change tempi! The music has some dramatic change in it and would provide opportunity to speed up/ slow down your performance "à la MK"... like what you're doing +/- 3mns... 3:30 the jump should rather come earlier...

I'd say: Exzellenter Ansatz - weiter so
Maybe bump into you in Munich some time...

the best smiles are the ones you lead to

Posted: 11th Jun 2009
That is awesome, but as Tom and MCP have already said the chin balance broke the routine a bit I would of stuck that in a bit later.
Also agreeing with Tom again at approx 2.25 when you sit down and stroke yo woman lol. You should of ended the tango their, maybe changed into something more upbeat, because thats where the dance ended.

The dance was brilliant you just need to exagerate some more with some of your movememnts. As I am only just beginning with staff I can say that was brilliant. Nice vid

From Within Chaos Comes Order

Posted: 12th Jun 2009
Wow thanks for all the input. And I agree to almost all of it.

I was aware of some things, but now I see that the balance and crossed legs are really out of place in this routine.

I find it hard to let tricks out and do posing or dancing. But it's worth it and I am curious how much contact will be left at the end Maybe I need a nerd version for fire conventions and a dance version for the normal crowd!

The stage was really far away from the audience. In the video you see a circle on the floor. In this circle was broken glass and big stones so I wanted to retreat from it. But it's good the think about this, I really tend to go away from the audience...

The part in the middle is a snuggle not a kiss and I don't want any thougts of sex toys in the audience.

I kinda like the idea of two flames as two partners. Not for the hole routine but it would provide a good basis for fast turns of the head.

The jump, yeah now I see it also that I crouch while I do this and before. I worked in the last months a lot on my posture by the way. I think the problem are turns on your shoulders with the head down. Is it possible to do these without crouching? I will try...

Thanks, I had already some input but now I know what I have to work on

@Tom: Where are you at the moment? India or Germany?

Posted: 13th Jun 2009
One is already too hot whilst the other is still to cold, so I retreat in Baliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii

Show off, dude - don't have to prove anything to anyone

the best smiles are the ones you lead to

Posted: 19th Jun 2009
Yeah Elsamsara, I really liked this - Smooth is the word . Pose, drama, costume all fit for me. While a little 'safe' maybe to our tecky eyes these things an audience do not see. Perhaps to add acceleration combine easier moves with higher mobility to get the 'high octane' cheer?